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JAPAN and Australia have set out an agenda to implement a
historic security co-operation pact to forge closer ties in
defence, policing, peacekeeping and nuclear disarmament.

The Prime Minister, John Howard, quashed suggestions that China
was upset by growing security ties between Japan, Australia and the
United States.

"The trilateral security dialogue is in no way anti-Chinese.
That is just a complete furphy," he told reporters.

Mr Howard said China's President, Hu Jintao, had not raised any
concerns with him.

"I've had innumerable discussions with President Hu Jintao over
the past couple of days, both in a formal sense and an informal
sense, and it is certainly not something that is troubling him in
any way and nor should it, because it's not directed against China
or the people of China.

"It is just a natural outcrop, if you like, of the things we
have in common with the Americans and the Japanese."

They endorsed a plan to implement the joint security pact that
Mr Howard signed during a visit to Tokyo in March.

"The action plan identifies a range of co-operative activities
to deepen the strategic partnership between Australia and Japan,
which is based on shared values and interests and a commitment to
regional security," Mr Howard said in a statement.

"We have agreed to enhance policy co-ordination on security
issues in the Asia-Pacific and beyond and expand practical
co-operation in areas including defence, law enforcement,
counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation, peace operations and the
exchange of strategic assessments and related information." The
plan canvasses a wide range of areas of co-operation including
exploring ways to work together on border security, further
intelligence sharing, annual bilateral talks on nuclear disarmament
and yearly activities on defence co-operation and exchange.

"The joint declaration (signed in March) and action plan
underline the increasing depth of our strategic partnership with
Japan and complement the robust economic and people-to-people links
between our countries," Mr Howard said.